Zendesk is a popular customer service software that allows companies to track, prioritize, and solve customer support tickets. An important feature in Zendesk is the ability to assign different statuses to tickets to indicate where they are in the workflow. Understanding the different Zendesk ticket statuses can help agents triage and resolve tickets more efficiently.
The main Zendesk ticket statuses
There are four main ticket statuses in Zendesk:
- New
- Open
- Pending
- Solved
Let’s go through each of these statuses in more detail:
New
The “New” status indicates a ticket has just been created by a customer but has not yet been reviewed or assigned to an agent. New tickets should be triaged quickly to make sure important issues don’t fall through the cracks.
Open
Once a ticket has been reviewed and prioritized, it’s changed to an “Open” status. Open tickets have been assigned to an agent who is responsible for working the issue. The agent may need to ask clarifying questions or investigate the problem before resolving it.
Pending
“Pending” means the ticket is waiting on something before it can move forward. This could be the agent waiting for the customer to provide more information, waiting on confirmation from a supervisor, or waiting for an internal team to fix an issue. The ticket is essentially on hold as a next step.
Solved
When the customer’s issue has been resolved, the agent marks the ticket as “Solved.” A solved ticket means the problem has been fixed, the question has been answered, or the request has been completed. However, it’s still open in case the customer has any follow-up questions.
Additional Zendesk ticket statuses
While those are the main statuses, Zendesk offers additional options to further categorize and track tickets:
- Closed – The ticket is completely resolved and closed out.
- Merged – Multiple tickets merged into one ticket.
- Assigned – The ticket has been manually assigned to an agent.
- On-hold – The ticket is deprioritized for a period of time.
- Archived – Removes the ticket from the active view but still accessible.
Configuring ticket statuses
Zendesk allows you to customize ticket statuses to match your support workflow. For example, you may want to add statuses like “Waiting for Payment” for an ecommerce site or “Awaiting Approval” for tickets needing manager review. To configure statuses:
- Go to the Admin section > Ticket Fields > Statuses
- Click “+ Add Status”
- Enter a Status Title and choose a color
- Select “Active” to enable the status
- Click “Create”
You can rearrange statuses to control the workflow order. You can also edit or deactivate statuses as needed.
Best practices for using ticket statuses
Here are some best practices for effectively leveraging Zendesk ticket statuses:
- Keep the number of active statuses manageable – Too many can be confusing.
- Ensure agents are trained on setting the right status.
- Use statuses to produce reports on ticket metrics and agent performance.
- Create views and triggers based on status changes like “New ticket” or “Pending response.”
- Make sure to close out solved tickets after a few days.
- Regularly review and optimize your statuses and workflow.
Automating status changes
To save time, automations and triggers can be used to automatically change a ticket’s status. For example:
- When a ticket reaches 2 days old, change status to “Pending Response.”
- When agent assigns a ticket, change status to “Assigned.”
- When agent replies, change status to “Pending Customer.”
This removes the manual work of updating statuses so agents can focus on resolutions. Automated status changes also ensure consistency.
Reporting on ticket statuses
Track key support metrics by generating reports filtered by ticket status such as:
- New tickets per day/week/month
- Average time to first response
- Number of pending tickets
- Oldest open ticket
- Solved tickets by agent
Regularly reviewing these reports provides insight into workload, staffing needs, and service performance.
Key takeaways
Here are some key takeaways on Zendesk ticket statuses:
- Statuses indicate where a ticket is within the workflow.
- The main statuses are New, Open, Pending, and Solved.
- Additional statuses allow further ticket categorization.
- Statuses can be customized to match support processes.
- Automations can save time by setting statuses automatically.
- Reporting by status provides insights into performance.
By leveraging ticket statuses properly, Zendesk users can gain visibility into their workloads, optimize their support workflows, and provide more efficient service to their customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the default Zendesk ticket statuses?
The default Zendesk ticket statuses are: New, Open, Pending, Solved, Closed.
Can I customize ticket statuses in Zendesk?
Yes, you can fully customize ticket statuses in Zendesk to match your support workflow needs. You can add new statuses, edit status names and colors, rearrange the order, and deactivate statuses.
What’s the difference between a Solved and Closed status?
“Solved” means the customer’s issue has been addressed but the ticket is still open for follow-ups. “Closed” means the ticket is completely resolved and no longer active.
When should I change a ticket status to Pending?
Use a Pending status when a ticket requires input or action before it can move forward, such as waiting on the customer, waiting on information from a different department, or waiting for confirmation from a manager.
How do I report on ticket statuses?
You can generate reports in Zendesk filtered by ticket status, such as number of new tickets, pending resolution times, solved tickets, etc. This provides insights into workload and agent performance.
How do I automate status changes?
Use Zendesk automations and triggers to automatically update status based on rules, such as changing to Pending after 2 days since last agent reply. This saves agents time.
Conclusion
Ticket statuses are an essential tool for managing workflow and providing excellent customer service. By leveraging the main statuses like New, Open, Pending, and Solved, along with automations and reporting, Zendesk users can gain control over their workloads and optimize support processes. Custom statuses also allow tailoring Zendesk to specific business needs. Understanding and utilizing ticket statuses will lead to more organized and efficient support operations.
